Droomboom

In Laeken (Brussels), School Droomboom transforms a pavilion-like campus into a phased, future-ready school for a growing community. The design breaks down scale into five “schoolhouses” inspired by the surrounding townhouse typology, framing a protected green courtyard shared with the neighbourhood after hours. A clear circulation spine and an extrovert Academy at the corner structure orientation. Landscapes extend across terraces and roofs, supporting outdoor learning, biodiversity and water management within a dense urban fabric.

A School that Builds the City

Located in the residential neighbourhood of Laeken in Brussels, School Droomboom occupies a notably open and green site within a dense urban fabric of townhouses and courtyard blocks. The project proposes a phased transformation across approximately 7.000 m², expanding capacity from 240 to 696 children while preserving generous outdoor space and accommodating future growth.

The school is conceived as an urban and social anchor: a building that supports learning during the day and extends its ground floor and Academy into the neighbourhood after hours.

Completing the Block, Keeping the Green

The surrounding urban structure is defined by perimeter blocks with a green heart. Droomboom builds on this logic by consolidating the edge and protecting an interior landscape as the project’s primary spatial asset.

The design intent is to break the school into five articulated “schoolhouses” that frame a shared courtyard landscape. The stepped volumes create more light, views and breathing space at street level, while limiting the physical impact on neighbouring homes.

Clear Orientation, Multiple Uses

Programme is distributed across the five volumes to make the school legible at a neighbourhood scale. The Primary School addresses Rue Laneau, the Kindergarten is placed along Rue L. Wittouck, and the Academy occupies the corner as an extrovert public face and cultural hinge between the two schools.

A central circulation axis connects each entrance to shared facilities on the plinth, supporting clear wayfinding for children and parents. The Academy’s atrium stair acts as an internal meeting place, linking to common functions such as refectory spaces and sports facilities that can operate independently after school hours.

Robust, Reconfigurable Framework

The schoolhouses draw their expression from the local townhouse typology: vertical rhythm, stepped façades and careful detailing that scale the building down to the street. Each volume maintains a distinct identity through material nuance, while the ensemble reads as one coherent campus.

A hybrid timber–concrete structural strategy supports long-term adaptability. The independence between structure, services and internal partitions allows future reconfiguration as pedagogies and space needs evolve. Prefabrication is embedded as a practical means to reduce errors and construction impact.

Learning Landscapes, Shared Courtyards

Landscape is integrated throughout: a planted arrival square, a sunken inner courtyard to reduce overlooking and noise, terraces that mediate to park zones, and roofscapes designed as outdoor classrooms and play areas. Parts of the green heart are accessible to the neighbourhood after hours, addressing a local shortage of public green space.

Low-Tech Circularity and Urban Climate

The project prioritises low-tech, maintainable solutions aligned with circular principles: demountability, robustness, healthy materials and potential reuse of existing components where possible. Permeable surfaces, wadi logic and roof planting support water retention and biodiversity, while shading and cross-ventilation strategies improve comfort in learning spaces.

Droomboom positions the school as both a civic building and an urban landscape: a flexible framework for education, community and a cooler, greener neighbourhood.